Disposing Items that do not go into Curbside Bins

Please, never dispose of unwanted items on streets or vacant lands. Illegal dumping is costly to our environment and community. For unwanted items that cannot be recycled or disposed through curbside collection services, please bring them to one of the Salinas Valley Recycles facilities or donate for reuse, SVR Reuse Guide.

Who is Salinas Valley Recycles?

Salinas Valley Recycles, also known as the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority, is a regional resource for waste reduction and recycling. As a member city, Salinas resident have access to many free services.

Keep Families & the Community Safe!

Many household products contain chemicals that can harm your family and our water and soil when not disposed of properly. Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) are products with labels that state Toxic, Flammable, Poison, Danger, Warning, or Caution and other items that contain toxic chemicals such as used batteries, paint, or fluorescent bulbs.

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) CANNOT go in the trash or recycling bins, but they are accepted for free from residential customers at the HHW Collection Facility in Salinas.

More Ideas and Resources

Low Income Seniors

Buy Recycled!

Did you know that when we all buy products made of recycled materials, it creates a higher demand and more incentive for recycling? Buying these products sends a message to manufacturing companies that we prefer they use recycled materials to make their products. Read tips on how to buy recycled.

All the materials we recycle are made back into new goods. Watch this video demonstrating that recyclable materials can be given another life and become something new when we choose to recycle.

Video of Making People Smile | Recycling | Ad Council

Food Scrap Composting at Home

Food waste makes up about 30% of the material that is land-filled in the Salinas Valley every day. Food waste is food scraps, leftovers, or trimmings and soiled paper that can be sorted from your trash, diverted from the landfill, and turned into compost and renewable energy. Find out how this is getting done locally at Monterey Regional Waste Management District.

Currently, food scrap collection service is not available for residential customers, but you can still compost at home to keep organic waste out of the landfill and out of your trash. Learn how to start and maintain home composting, plus free workshops to get you started.

Buy Less Food

Did you know consumers are responsible for more wasted food than farmers, grocery stores, restaurants, or any other part of the food supply chain? In fact, 21 percent of the food each person buys goes to waste, with the average American family of four spending $1,500 per year on food that they throw away and each individual throwing away 20 pounds of food per month.

Watch this video showcasing the wondrous life cycle of food and the loss of resources when it goes unconsumed.

Video of The Extraordinary Life And Times Of Strawberry | Save The Food | Ad Council

What Goes in the Recycling Cart

Please put items into the recycling cart loose, not bagged or bundled. All containers must be empty. Rinse out excess liquid or food residue. Flatten all cardboard boxes. Pizza boxes are ok if they are free of grease and/or food.

What Goes in the Yard Waste Cart

Only yard or garden clippings and trimmings, like grass, leaves, flowers, weeds, or branches may go into the yard waste cart. Please do not put plastic bags, water bottles, animal feces, garden hoses, food, or any other materials in the yard waste cart, because this material is used to make high-quality compost and wood chips.
Please find full details on the printable Yard Waste Flyer ENG / SPA.

What Goes in the Trash Cart (to Landfill)

Items not listed below or for the recycling or yard waste carts may go into the trash cart (to landfill).

Keep Safe! Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)

Keep Families & the Community Safe!

Many household products contain chemicals that can harm your family and our water and soil when not disposed of properly. Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) are products with labels that state Toxic, Flammable, Poison, Danger, Warning, or Caution and other items that contain toxic chemicals such as used batteries, paint, or fluorescent bulbs.

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) CANNOT go in the trash or recycling bins, but they are accepted for free from residential customers at the HHW Collection Facility in Salinas:

Large Load & Bulky Item Options

Do you need to dispose of a large load or bulky item? Large loads may include yard / landscape waste and small quantities of home construction debris. Bulky items are those too large for the curbside bins such as home furnishings, TVs, mattresses and box springs, carpet, and appliances.

While large loads and bulky items are not collected through regular curbside or apartment recycling programs, they can still be recycled or even donated for reuse.

To dispose of bulky items you have several options:

1. Free Pick-up (single family homes only): Contact Republic Services of Salinas for acceptable items and other requirements, such as how and when to set on curb. One bulk waste collection per year is included as part of your curbside collection service. Additional bulky item pick-up services incur a fee.
Call: (831) 775-3840

2. Annual Cleanup Events: The City of Salinas offers residents free, annual cleanup and recycling events when you may drop off items at a location near your home. For specific dates, times, and locations, watch for announcements in the newspaper or mail or view the Upcoming Recycling Events calendar.

4. Debris Boxes: Republic Services of Salinas offers dumpster and container rentals for the collection and disposal of large quantities of bulk items. Rent a debris box to collect materials for a cleanup project or remodel construction.
Call: (831) 775-3840

5. Donate or Sell: If any items are in good, reusable condition, please consider a donation to a local reuse business or charitable organization. Why pay to dispose of something when someone else might be willing to pay you for it? Visit the Reuse Guide to learn more.

Neighborhood & Household Cleanups

Community Neighborhood & Household Cleanup Events

Free cleanup events take place throughout the year. Residents may clean out their homes and yards of household trash, yard waste, wood waste, metal appliances, clothing, furniture, mattresses/box springs, plastics, cardboard, and electronic waste and drop off at designated locations.

Salinas Neighborhood Services staff, in collaboration with City Councilmembers and Mayor Gunter, will be hosting Neighborhood & Household Cleanup events near you. Notification flyers are sent to residents by mail.

Illegal Dumping and Cleanup

Were you aware that illegal dumping is an ongoing problem in our city and county? It is unsightly, expensive to cleanup, and a hazard to human health and the environment.

Please report Salinas Spills / Dumping: Call 758-7233. State the location of the spill/dumping (street intersection/street address), the time, any information that can help the City find the source and alert the offender of the prohibition.

Food To-Go Container Compliance Program

Take Out Has Never Tasted So GOOD!

All food providers within Salinas must use products that are biodegradable, compostable, or recyclable for their "to-go" containers. This is because the City of Salinas has an Environmentally Acceptable Food Packaging Ordinance that restricts the use of expanded polystyrene (also known as Styrofoam®).

Salinas Reusable Bag Ordinance

Would it surprise you to learn that Californians use over 19 billion plastic bags a year? As we all know, these bags blow in the wind, litter our streets, and could continue to harm our environment for 1,000 years –the time it takes them to degrade.

In response to the cost to our community, the Salinas City Council adopted a Reusable Bag Ordinance that prohibits the distribution of single-use carryout bags and requires a...